Mobile data traffic refers to data traffic over mobile networks (e.g., cellular networks). The rise of the smartphone has caused mobile data traffic worldwide has double every year for approximately five years. Current mobile data traffic is eight times the entire global internet in the year 2000. The amount of mobile data traffic is expected to continue to increase at exponential rates in the future. By 2016, mobile data traffic is projected to increase eighteen fold. The number of mobile connected devices is projected to surpass the world's population.
Mobile network operators continue to explore new strategies to accommodate the exponential growth of mobile data traffic. Some strategies involve offloading IP flows at the nearest access edge of the mobile network. Data offloading takes advantage of parallel or complementary network technologies for delivering data originally targeted for cellular networks. This approach results in efficient usage of the mobile packet core and lowers transport cost. The end users enjoy higher bandwidth and lower service costs. However, some IP flows cannot be offloaded to complementary networks using conventional technologies.